


miscommunications lead to fallout

by belatedwannable



Category: AB6IX (Band), Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 02:35:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21236741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belatedwannable/pseuds/belatedwannable
Summary: In the wake of a certain cosmetics campaign, Woojin and Daehwi draw their own conclusions. Fortunately, their boyfriends appear to restate some important truths.





	miscommunications lead to fallout

**Author's Note:**

> Context time!  
These are the commercials they discuss in this fic, if you haven’t seen them already. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgBpA85z7_4), [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2e-mRU3nOs), and [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD6nTgQvUxc). There used to be a compilation somewhere, but I can’t find it at the moment. I hope you enjoy this emotional rollercoaster of a fic!

Woojin’s eyes shift immediately to the door when it opens, on guard for whatever might be coming through it. He’s in no mood to deal with a prank at the moment.

When he sees Daehwi pad towards him, he relaxes as he hears the younger boy say, “Hey, hyung, can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Of course. You saw it too? Your boyfriend and mine _canoodled_ on camera.”

“I know.” Daehwi sounds smaller than he’s ever sounded before, his typically confident façade replaced by fear and doubt. He crawls into Woojin’s strong arms before asking in an impossibly tiny voice. “Do…do you think they’d be happier together?”

Woojin sighs. “I don’t know about Jinyoung, Hwi, but maybe Jihoon would. Jinyoung’s gorgeous and I’m…I’m too tan, too rough, too oddly shaped. Even my fingers look deformed.”

“Only because you bend them that way, hyung,” Daehwi sasses back instinctively before going back to sounding tired and scared. “But I know what you mean. Jihoon’s so beautiful. He takes the nation’s breath away. How can a human grapefruit compete with galaxy-eyed wink boy?”

Woojin doesn’t even try to answer that, consumed by his own thoughts.

Daehwi speaks again, softer and more reflective this time. “Jinyoung gets annoyed by my loudness sometimes, but Jihoon’s pretty quiet while he’s gaming. They could be perfect.” Woojin hums his assent. They lapse into silence, caught in their own spirals of identifying flaws in themselves and fantasizing about the solution found in the other person’s boyfriend.

Jihoon thrives on attention and, with their joint schedules for the cosmetics campaign, Jinyoung is in a better position to give him plenty. Jihoon tenses up under Woojin’s public displays of affection, but Jinyoung prefers to be subtle anyways. Jihoon might want someone taller, someone who could tower over him, and Woojin would never be that person. He might also want someone with a model’s figure, which Woojin couldn’t achieve, but which Jinyoung fit perfectly. Jinyoung could be very blunt, sometimes a little mean, and Jihoon was much less sensitive than Daehwi. It was true. They _could _be perfect together.

Overwhelmed by a wave of emotion, Woojin holds Daehwi a little tighter, murmuring, “If…if they do want to be together, do you think you can wish them happiness? I know it’ll hurt like hell, but can you do it? This industry’s too small for us to avoid them forever and our names will always be linked because of our history.”

Daehwi’s slight trembling is the only hint that he’s been crying as he replies, “Y-yeah, I think I can do that. For the sake of the others, at least. A scandal won’t solve anything.”

“Alright, that’s something we can tell them the next time we talk, reassure them that we’ll be fine.”

Daehwi turns into the embrace, nuzzling his face into Woojin’s chest, his tears soaking through the fabric. “Will we, hyung? Will we ever be fine without them?”

“I don’t know, Daehwi-ah.” It’s not exactly the solid reassurance that Daehwi probably needs, but it’s all Woojin can muster as his fingers card through the maknae’s hair and they sink once more into quiet grief and anticipated loss.

The ringtone from Woojin’s phone startles them out of their reverie. It’s a love song, set aside for the love of his life, and Woojin’s heart aches at the thought that tonight could be the end of their story together. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he answers the phone with a weary greeting.

From the tone in his voice, Jihoon can tell something’s wrong, but he still gets the shock of his life as the next sentence reaches his ears.

“Daehwi’s here too and we’ve decided that if you want to break up with us and be together, we wish you nothing but happiness.”

“B-break up? No, that’s not—This is about…oh my god, Jinyoung said we should say something earlier, but we were so busy and you were too and we didn’t know what to say, so we didn’t say anything—”

Lifting his head from its resting place on Woojin’s chest, Daehwi takes the phone and tries to preempt the heartbreak, saying, “Jihoonie hyung, it’s okay. We understand. Y-you’re better for each other anyway. You don’t have to apologize for that.”

Jihoon rushes to reply, “Better? No, that’s not it at all. I see why you would think that, but no. Neither of us want to leave either of you. You’re perfect for us the way you are. We’ll fix this, I swear. Please let us _fix_ this.”

There’s a brief pause before Daehwi’s phone starts buzzing and Jihoon explains, “That’s Jinyoung and he’s very worried, so please take his call. I’ll stay here with Woojin as long as he wants me, I promise.”

Daehwi nods and hurries back to his own room, just as eager to hear his boyfriend as he was anxious about the possibility of their breakup.

There’s a silence left in the wake of his exit, which Woojin finally breaks, asking, “Hoonie? Are you still there?”

A shaky voice comes over the line. “Woojinnie? I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for making you think…” His voice trails off, not even able to finish the thought.

Woojin’s heart clenches as he listens to his boyfriend’s evident distress. “Jihoon-ah, I’m still here. I’m still listening. I still love you. Now, tell me what happened.”

The story tumbles out piece by piece, as it usually does with Jihoon, starting from when they received the script and realized they were going to be in close proximity to one another the whole time. It wasn’t anything outside normal skinship in the group, but it was more than they’d had in weeks.

When they arrived on the set, the director and staff made it clear that they could stand a little closer, lean in a little further, and generally become more intertwined than they had initially planned. At first, they’d resisted, but as the hours of the shoot dragged on, all they could think about was how much they missed skinship.

“We were both so touch-starved by then. It had been weeks since we’d last seen you two and we missed you and the rest of our members so much, so we decided to pretend for the day. After all, we were just following directions and it was work. We thought we’d have a chance to explain before you saw it, but you already know how that turned out.”

Woojin waits until he's finished before asking the question on his mind the whole time. “During that time of pretending, did you ever wish that it was real? That he was yours?”

“No, not once. I would never want to be with anyone but you. You’re strong enough to protect me and soft enough to let me hold you when you’re scared. You’re absolutely beautiful. Your smile lights up a room and you know what you do to me when you start _trying_ to dance sexually because your initial sex appeal is already overwhelming. You know when to give me space and when to press for what’s bothering me. When I tell you things, you know exactly how to make me feel better. You’re someone I can trust unconditionally and rely on constantly, knowing you’ll always have my back. When I say I want forever with you, Woojinnie, I’m not lying. I do. I want forever with you and you alone.”

“But your schedules, Jihoonie. I’m not around to give you everything you deserve anymore. You talked about missing skinship so badly and he’s going to be there when I’m not.” A part of him wants so badly to believe Jihoon’s beautiful words, but he needs to make sure that they both know what they're signing up for before he lets himself be hurt again.

The difficult truth is that Woojin doesn’t blame Jinyoung for having a schedule that fits better with Jihoon’s, and he recognizes that Jinyoung’s face is perfect for selling cosmetics. Besides, he has cosmetic ads of his own. He blames _himself_ for not being visual enough to get the one job that mattered most, the one that would have ensured him time and touch with his beloved boyfriend.

Without missing a beat, Jihoon replies, “We’ve known for months that sacrifices will have to be made and hard work will have to happen. I’m truly sorry for what I did and for not telling you about it, but it sounds like something else is going on here. It’s not just the joint schedules, Woojinnie. What made you think I would _ever_ consider leaving you?” Jihoon knows how hard it is for him to talk about his own pain, so he adds, “I know it’s difficult, but you’re not alone.”

As expected, Woojin initially resists the question. “I don’t want to tell you because it’ll hurt you and I should be bringing you joy, not stress. I’m sorry for bringing it up and making you worry. I’ll be fine.”

Jihoon’s heart aches and he wants nothing more than to run his fingers through Woojin’s hair, letting him know that it’s fine to let go, that he’s safe now, but Jihoon has to settle for providing reassuring words instead. “Don’t be sorry. It’s alright. Tell me what’s hurting you so I can help take the hurt away. We’re in this together, beautiful. Besides, if you don’t tell me, you know I’ll fill in the blanks with things a thousand times worse than what’s actually going on.”

After a deep sigh, Woojin’s words rush out as if he’s on the verge of losing his nerve to say anything at all. “Our entire relationship, I’ve been the one chasing after you, grabbing your hand, pulling you close. I’m scared that if I’m not there to pursue you, you’ll forget about me or worse, want someone who’s better for you and resent me for not letting you go. I’m not perfect. I’m loud at all the wrong times. I try and touch you too much in public. And now, I’m not even around. You deserve everything including someone who’s there to hold you at night and kiss you when you’re having a bad day. It bothers me that I can’t be that person for you, at least, not right now. But the thought that haunts my days and keeps me up at night is the thought that the best days of our relationship might be behind us. We’re never going to live together again, certainly not as roommates. If we stand onstage together, it will be a few times a year and not side-by-side as part of the same team. I don’t have an excuse to run my fingers through your hair, to wear matching outfits, to just _be_ with you, and you might forget how much you matter to me when I can’t show you all the time. I know I sound desperate. I know this sounds stupid, but our real lives seem to be working against us, against this, and I don’t know if you want to fight to keep this alive as badly as I do, so I’ve been scared, too scared to actually ask you if you want this, if you want _me_. Do you?”

He quickly follows the question with a disclaimer. “You don’t have to answer now. You can take some time to think about it. I don’t mind waiting a little longer.”

“What if I know the answer now?” Jihoon’s voice is strong and sure for the first time that night as he continues, “What if I know that I want to love you for as long as you’ll let me? There is no doubt in my mind that you love me. You’ve given me countless proofs of that. What you’ve just told me lets me know that I need to start giving you more proofs back. I’m not going to forget you or resent you or want anybody else. There is nobody else for me. You don’t sound desperate or dumb or anything except afraid. And that’s natural, Woojin-ah. It’s normal to be terrified in the face of everything we’re expected to deal with, everything we sacrifice to chase our dreams. You’re the one thing I don’t ever want to sacrifice, the one person I don’t want to live without.”

The next question comes across a little hesitantly. “Are you sure you don’t wish I was taller or thinner or less loud?”

“First of all, I refuse to say I never wish you were quieter, but that’s just a part of you. You don’t have to change that for me to love you. You don’t have to change anything for me to love you. I just do. It’s a fact. And why would I want you taller? You’re _already_ taller than me by just a centimeter, but the way you lord it over me, it may as well be a whole head. And thinner? Your muscles were carved by the gods. What in the world makes you think I’d want to exchange those for something else?”

There’s barely-contained mirth in Woojin’s voice as he replies, “Carved by the gods, huh? I like that.”

Jihoon can practically hear the raised eyebrow on the other end as he rolls his eyes. “And this is why I don’t say this stuff out loud. If I did it too often, your ego would require a separate seat when you travel.” He pauses before continuing, “Seriously though, I know I don’t say it enough, but I truly do love you, Woojinnie. I miss you every day we spend apart, especially the days when we don’t get to talk because of our crazy schedules. I miss you trying to grab me every other minute onstage. I miss leaning on your shoulder at the end of a long day. Nighttime is when I miss you most though. Cuddling up to you when the weather turns cold, gaming with your head on my lap, trying out new sex positions you found on the internet. Only you can fill those gaps for me.” He knows as soon as the words are out of his mouth that he’s going to regret that last sentence, but it’s too late to fix it, so he doesn’t bother to try.

Woojin quips, “Ah, yes. I remember exactly which gaps of yours need filling most.” But his voice quickly switches to the tender tone of someone with important things to say. “Thank you. That was exactly what I needed to hear. We’ll make this work somehow. I don’t know exactly how yet, but we’ll figure it out as we go along.” There’s a pause while he concocts a plan. “Can we try something tonight, Jihoonie?”

“Mmmm, depends on what that something is, Woojinnie.” Jihoon’s had too much experience with Woojin’s schemes to agree without knowing what he’s getting into.

“I’m getting sleepy and I have a schedule tomorrow, so can we stay on the phone while we sleep? It’s not much, but I just like the idea of having you here like this.”

Jihoon swears his heart is about to burst from the sweetness of the suggestion. “Of course. Let’s do that. I’m about to go to sleep too, so how about we race to dreamland?”

“Sure thing, but you know I always win.”

“I know, but I like to try anyways. I love you, my sparrow.”

“I love you too, my Hoonie. Sweet dreams.”

Despite his boasts, Woojin doesn’t race Jihoon to sleep this time. Instead, he stays awake long enough to hear his boyfriend’s breathing even out and deepen as he drifts off to sleep. Only then is he able to let himself float in the most pleasant dreams he’s had in weeks.

Backstage at their joint fanmeeting for the cosmetics brand, Jinyoung slips Jihoon a note. The note is small, only three lines long, and sealed with a bird sticker, a sparrow. Jihoon sneaks off to the bathroom to read it. “I’m so proud of you. I love you. Your liptint looks great, but it’ll look better after your lips are finally on mine.” In the bottom corner of the note, there’s a kiss mark, demonstrating that Woojin did in fact purchase the brand Jihoon represents and it just so happens to be the very shade he’s wearing for the event. And if Jihoon smiles to himself throughout the day, that’s his business and his business only.

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: First things first, the title is from a Taylor Swift song called “The Story of Us”. It’s a break-up song that has very little to do with the story I told here, but the line just stuck with me. Second, I might write the Jinhwi conversation as an epilogue, but for now, I’ll call this fic complete. Third, those commercials are honestly not too spicy. It’s pretty par for the course in terms of Wanna One photoshoots, but in my imagination, the timing combined with Woojin’s insecurities might lead to a conversation like this one. I am also the biggest fan of emotional hurt/comfort, so that definitely played a major part in this fic. As always, you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/belatedwannable) and [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/belatedwannable). I welcome comments and conversations!


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